He also suggested that Secretary of State John Kerry’s “mental age doesn’t exceed 12”.
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As head of public diplomacy and media, Baratz, a forty two-yr-previous philosophy lecturer, can be tasked with enhancing Israel’s popularity on the planet.
Netanyahu will meet Obama at the White House on Monday, the first meeting between the pair in more than a year. In a tweet, the Israeli PM denied claims that he would fire Mr Baratz, and wrote that he would “deal with the matter upon my return”.
Israeli officials say Mr Baratz is not going to accompany him.
Rob Malley, the National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, said that bringing the two-state solution – which has been the longstanding USA position – to fruition is “not in the cards” for the remainder of Obama’s term.
“We understand the prime minister will be reviewing this appointment when he returns from his visit to the United States”, he said.
Baratz said they “were written without thinking and sometimes as jokes in language which is appropriate for social networks and for a private person”.
Among other topics Obama and Netanyahu are expected to discuss next week include the situation in Syria, the fight against the Islamic State army and lingering tensions over the US nuclear deal with Iran, which Israel vehemently opposed.
“The remarks are particularly serious in light of the fact that this is a senior civil servant who is supposed to serve in a representative capacity and reflect the positions of the State of Israel at home and overseas”, the president’s office said.
An official said Mr Baratz had apologized to Mr Netanyahu in a phone conversation and in a statement, Mr Netanyahu distanced himself from the comments but indicated the appointment remained valid.
Rivlin’s office has reportedly asked Netanyahu’s office for explanations regarding the comments about him.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the apology “warranted”, but stopped short of explicitly accepting it. As president I will never stop working to advance the goal of two states for two peoples living in peace, security and dignity.
“Obama’s way of speaking about Netanyahu’s speech – that is the modern face of anti-Semitism in Western and liberal countries”, Baratz wrote. Since then, there has been a surge in violence between Palestinians and Israelis.
In a Facebook post last month, Baratz described Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as a completely marginal figure.
Clinton cited her record on Israel as a senator and Secretary of State, including fighting incitement in Palestinian textbooks, supporting the inclusion of Israel’s Magen David Adom in the global Red Cross, and opposing the “biased” Goldstone report on the 2008-09 Gaza War. “It would be premature to talk about numbers or dollar figures”, Shapiro said.
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Israel’s new ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, is a strong supporter of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and an equally fervent opponent of the establishment of a Palestinian state, putting him at odds with the global community.
